Therapy animals provide documented psychological benefits to humans in healthcare, educational, and therapeutic settings. Protecting the welfare of these animals is both ethical and essential for sustainable program quality.
Therapy animal programs rest on an implicit welfare bargain: the animal provides therapeutic benefit to humans, and humans are obligated to protect the animal from harm in doing so. When this bargain is upheld — with appropriate work duration limits, stress monitoring, opt-out provisions, and recovery time — therapy animal programs can genuinely benefit both parties. When it is not — when animals are forced to interact with frightened handlers, worked to exhaustion, or denied the ability to disengage — the program exploits the animal for human benefit without adequate protection. The standard for evaluating therapy animal programs should include not just human outcomes but animal welfare indicators.